Slicing machine



July 9., 1935. s. SINGER SLICING MACHINE Filed Oct. 7, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 9, 1935. I l s. SINGER 2,007,219

SLICING MACHINE Filed Oct. 7, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 q INVENTOR.

614M051. Syn/65 mwra,

ATTORNEYS.

J y 9,1935. SSINGER 2,007,219

SLIGING MACHINE Filed Oct. '7, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. 64/1054 -51N65/7 A TTORNE YS.

July 9, 1935. V s. SINGER SLICING MACHINE Filed Oct. '7, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTORNEYS.

5. sINGER SLICING MACHINE July 1935- 6 Sheets-S 5 Filed Oct. 7, 1929.

ATTORNEYS 5. SINGER SLICING MACHINE July 9, 1935.

Filed Oct. '7, 1929 6 Sheets-$heet 6 W *g I ATTORNEYS.

. m R 7 m M N l w a mu m m o 0 07 M mw vlmn a r B w qwu uwmmn m n WWWMMWMWM W w wmw 1 mx Patented July 9, 1935 the; principles involved may be found. useful .in'

PATENT OFFICE.-

,1 SLIOING MACHINE 1 V- Samuel Singer, San Francisco, Calif. Applicatiou oetober 7, 1929, sasme'raiom 1 10 cla ms. (01. 146-88) The: present invention relates to improvements in a slicing. machine, and its principal object is to provide an improved. slicing machine intended principally for slicing meat and bacon; although different connections. 1 v .A further object of the invention is: to provide a slicingmachine of theicharacter describedthat is. simple in constructionandeconomic in-opera-. l

tion.

A. further object, of the invention is to provide a slicingmachine whichjallowsof the use of an endless band blade as contra-distinguished from conventional slicers used at thepresent time which use rotary disc blades. 7

.Aiurther' object of theinvention is to provide certain improvements in connection with the: fieeding: of the object to be cut to the. knife. and in certain adjustmentsdetermining the. thick.- ness. of the slices cut.

.Aiurther object. of. the invention, and one of the most important ones, is to provide a novel means for holding the object to. be sliced inplacep.

itbeing intended to use for this purpose. ameans active on the slicing face. of the object.

More particularly it is proposed in the present. invention to use a. suction means for holding the.

objectin place, the suction means applying to.-

the. slicing. face of theoleject.

It is 'fiurtheriproposed in the'present invention ta provide .a. means. forholding the slices after they havebeen cut and for successively carrying. theslices away from the'object and delivering; the. same on atray in predetermine'd order.

A. further object of the invention to provide. combination with aslicing machine of the" character described, means for stacking the separated slices in a predetermined arrangement and. in: overlapping relation, an arrangement. that .is. being; rapidly adopted. stores for exhibiting. slices of bacon, for instance.

tionwill appear asthe specificationproceeds.

Thepreferred formof my invention is. i1lus-.- trated'. in the ac'companyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a top plan view of. my. device;. Figure 2 alongitudinal vertical section-through the. same. with the position of thebladecarrier shifted to the center line; Y v t Figure 3, a; sectiontaken along line 3: 3. of: Figure-2.; V i

Fi-gurei l a. horizontal section taken along line 4-4 of. Figure 2; 1 i 'Figure. 5 a transyerse vertical-section taken.

al ne aste-5 of u e:

invention.

Figure 6 av transverse vertical section taken along line 6..-67 of FigurZ; Y

Figure 7 a vertical section 'l-'|.oI.1=-ig.ure:4;

taken along line Figure 8 an. end elevation aswseen from the right. of. Figure 1;.

=Figure 9 avertical transverse section taken'on linezS-Qof Figure 4;;-

Figure 10 a vertical transverse section taken;

Figure 1111 avertical section takenalong line H-.l I of; Figure 10;

along line 13-43 of Figure 2;. Figure 14 a. section taken along line ld- -ll'of' Figure 13; and.

. Figure 155 a diagrammatic knife whichlemploy 'for separating the rind from. the bod-y of the bacon or the like. While I have shownonly the. preferred form" of theinvention, I wish to. have it understood that various changes or modifications may bemade ,within the scope of the claims hereto attachedwithout departing from the spirit of the- Figure 13. a transverse vertical sectiontakenfi Referring to; the: drawings in detail, my slic ingv machine: winch in this. particular description is illustrated. as being. used forslicing asideof: bacon, contains as: its: principal parts a'table- View illustrating the V l on whichthe side. of bacon 2 may be placed,a*

pusher .3 for advancingthe bacon, a blade car-* 2 Her 4; and operating mechanism for the same, a

suction holder 5 adapted to lie against-the slicing face of the; bacon for holding the same in place, andfor carrying separated slices away from the: main body, ands; tray 6 adapted to have the slices. of baconvstacked thereon. in overlapping relation, and. means for stepwiseadvanci ingthesama. Further objects and advantagesfof my inven--' The table I, thersuriace of: which is provided withanumber of longitudinal ribs 1, is mounted" overthe base. -8 and; supported by means of a side wall. 9 rising from the base in such a manner that considerable space is provided between the: table and: the base.- The side member fl'extends upwardly beyond the height of the table to form atfiange: I01; front edge H of the table is curved; toiform-lan are drawn on the center of the a blade. movement as. will be described hereinafter."

This table ser'vessas a support for the side of bacon 2 which may be: placed thereon in such a manner that. theslicingend' of the bacon projects: slightly beyondthe iront edge H. The rear end of the bacon is acted on by the pusher 3 consisting of a vertical plate (see Figures 13 and 14) extending transversely over the table, and having a plurality of hooks l2 projecting therefrom for engagement with the bacon. This plate is fastened to a cylinder I 3 adapted to ride in a slot I4 formed in the table and forming part of anupper bearing member l5 adapted to ride on a threaded rod l6 extending lengthwise underneath the table and supported in bearings H. A lower bearing member [8 which is threaded internally as shown at I9 is held in engagement with the rod l6 by means of a fork 20 fastened to the lower member as shown at 2|, and extending through the upper bearing with freedom of-slid ing motion as at 22, and having a stem 23 extending into the cylinder I3, the stem terminating in a head 24 normally urged upward-by a spring 25 that encircles the stem. As long as the different parts are in the position shown in Figures 13' and 14, rotary movement of the. threaded rod l6 causes the pusher 3 to advance. When the operator desires to advance the pusher more quickly, or to return the same to an initial position, he depresses the head, 24 which releases the. lower bearing member I8 from the threaded rod l6 and allows the pusher to be freelyzmoved in either direction, the upper bearing member not -being threaded.

For turning the rod I6 I provide the following mechanism, parts of which are utilized for driving the other elements of my slicing machine. 'A shaft 26 extends transversely through the base 8 near the rear edge thereof, and is connected to any suitable source of power, such as an electrical motor not shown in the'drawings- This shaft has abevel pinion Zlmounted thereon, which latter meshes with a. bevel gear 28 at the lower end of a short vertical shaft 29 having a. pinion 30 at its upper end meshing with a ring gear 3| having a disc 32 (see Figures 2 and 5) fastened there to, the ring gear and the disc being mounted on a shaft 33 supported transversely in the blade carrier 4, which latter is pivotally supported over.

the rear end of the base by means of a bushing 34, resting on and extendingthrougha bearing 35, formed in the top member of the base 8. The

bushing 34 has an arm. 36 extending therefrom, and a roller 31 at the end of said arm rides in a groove 38 in a drum 39 mounted on the transverse, shaft 40, to which latterrotary. motion is transmitted'from the shaft 26 through the gears 4| and 42,.the groove ,38 being shaped to cause. Y the arm 36 toswing backand forth as the drum 39 revolves.

, In this manner the arm and with 'it the blade carrier 4 are made to swing back and forth in a horizontal plane. The blade carrieris made in the form of a yoke, and is mounted in the bearing 35 in such a manner that one arm extends above the table i, andone arm below the table I, while the front ends of the arms are arranged relative to the front edge of the table in such'a' manner that an endlessblade 43 mounted in the blade holder on the-disc 32. previously described, and two sheaves 44, passesv along the front edge of the table for cutting off a projecting piece of bacon.

The blade holder-has mounted onone side thereof a T-shaped member 45, adjustably seated in a somewhat larger SIT-shaped recess'46, the member being fastened, by meansof a set screw 41, and adapted'for up and'down adjustment.

The stem 48 ,of' the T-shapedmember projects beyond the inner edge. of the blade carrierand strikes a pin 49 extending from a ring 50 I0- tatably mounted on the end of the threaded rod IS. The ring is connected to the rod l6 by means of the conventional clutch arrangement 5| shown in Figure 3 by means of which turning motion is transmitted in one direction but not in the other. As the blade carrier swings back and forth, the stem 48 strikes the pin 49 and thereby turns the rod 16 while advancing in one direction for causing a slight advance of the pusher 3' On the return movement the stem 48 strikes the pin 49 but this movement is not transmitted to the rod due to the clutch arrangement. Two springs 52 automatically return the pin 49 toan initial vertical position after each excursion.

For slicing the side of bacon, the latter is placed on the table so that one end slightly projects beyond the front edge of the table and the pusher is adjusted for engagement with the opposite end of the bacon. To hold the front end in place, I provide the suction holder 5 comprising in its general features a suction chamber 53; of a length substantially corresponding to the width of the table, and presenting a curved face 54 in parallel relation and slightly spaced from the front edge of the table when the suction holder occupies the position shown in Figures 1 and 4. The suction holder is pivoted in a bracket 55 extending from the side wall 9 so that it may be swung from the position shown in Figure 1 outwardly to a position at right angles thereto.

The mounting means for the suction holder also includes means for tilting the suction holder so that its gripping face 54 is presented in vertical position when confronting the front edge of the table, and in horizontal position when turned ninety degrees. The mounting means is shown in detail in Figures 9 and 10, and includes a horizontal journal 55, extending from one end of the suction holder, and revolvably held in the lower solid portion of a cylinder 51, which latter is revolvably mounted in a bearing 58 provided on the bracket 55 by means of a nut 59 threaded on the reduced end 50 of the cylinder. The journal 58 extends beyond its bearing and is forked as shown at 6! to support the pin 62 having a block 63 thereon, which latter is engaged by. the forked end 64 of a rod 65, the other end of which is engaged through the universal joint 66 by a horizontal shaft 6'! mounted within the base and supported by bearings 68. This shaft is free to slide longitudinally, and is acted on by a cam 69 mounted on the shaft 48 previously mentioned. The cam is shown in detail in Figure 7 and includes a substantially circular section 10 occupying about one-half thereof, and a flattened section II occupying the other half. In the situation shown in Figure 7 the shaft 6! is in its most advanced position, and holds the suction holder 54 in confronting relation to the front edge of the table. As the shaft turns in the direction of the arrow, the suction holder is retained in the same position during a complete one-half of a revolution. Thereupon the shaft 6'! enters upon the fiat portion of the cam, and during the next quarter of the revolution is allowed to retract under the influence of the spring 12 fastened at one end to one of the bearings 68 and at the other end to the shaft as at'l3 so that the suction holder is thrown outward into the dotted line position of Figure 4. During the next quarter of a revolution, the shaft 6'? is again urged outward for swinging the suction holder. backto its .initial position. v a .1 The :tiltingmotion ofthesuction holder'dur-s ing itsoutward'movement is producedby engagemanner (a pin. 14' associated with the'camzGB, which strikes a. lug .15 extending. from .the shaft {51 during the third quarter.- of; :theJreVQlution' of the cam, ..this engagement takingplace. well toward the end of theoutward movement. When thezpin' strikes the lug- '15 the shaft 61 is revolvedthroughla quarter of .a turn, and since' at; the

' end of the outward movement the shaft .B'Lthe.

md 65, and the suctionholder are substantially alined, this tilting motion is"rtransferred through the universal joints to the suction holder so that the-lattenturns its face. downward-at the end of'the outward movement. As soonjasthe' pin ure 11. The partition 80 is spacedslightly from thefront wall of the suction chamber soasto provide a; small intervening. spacegM, and .the head iof eachivalve 1.9 is sufficiently long to fit;

both the .frontwall 1 and the partition 8.9. Whenavacuumis created in the suction cham-, ber,;the vacuum extends through perforations 85 intothe space 84. 7

,As the suctionlchamber iszswung toward the projecting'face of the bacon, a plurality of valves 19 willcome in contact with the bacon',-. and become unseated by the impact so as. to allow the suction to become active. on the face of the bacon forholding the samegin place; It should be noted thatxo-nly those. valves coming within the area ofthe exposed face 'of the bacon are affected while all the other valves remainclosed. q V

For producing a vacuum in-the suctionchamberm-I use a'vacuurn pump 86 (see Figureszand '4) which may be ,of. any suitable construction, andis operated ,lfrom the shaft 26 through an eccentric, 8lland a; connecting rod 88. The pump ,is connectedthrough'a flexible hose. 89. and a fitting 90 with a; port 9| in thecylinder SLwhich latter, communicates through. a port 92 in its bottom, and a port 93 in the journal .56'with;a bore 94 in said journal, which latterbore-leads tothe suction chamber so that as longas the suction chamber is presented with its suctionface inavertical position, there, is free communio tion between the suction pump and the; suction chamber for creating andmaintaining-a vacuum. in. the lattern-As the suction chamber is tilted when approaching the end of its outward move.- ment, the port 93 in thejournal; fifigmoves out of registry. with the, port 92 and into registry with; a port .,95 leading to the atmosphere so thatlthe suction is released. 7, a

Adjacentthe front edge of the table thereis mounted a shelf .96 on which the tray 6 is supported with freedom of sliding motion. This. tray is step-wise advanced as the suction holder; swings back and forthby utilizing he iltin movement of .the suction holder, whichlatter has 4 a short bar 51 extending downwardly therefrom vertical position; enters one of the "recesses '98 Thisibar; when the suctionholder tilts back into provided in the tray. and by striking thewallof the recess advances the tray. The recesses as will bev seen from the drawings arecurved onan arc drawn on the center of the swinging movement of thesuction holder so that when thelatter swingsbacktoward the frontof'the table, the bar. .91 rides out of the recess.

The operation of'my machine is as followsz Aside of 'bacontobe' sliced is placed on the table lwith its front or slicing end slightlyprojecting beyondrthe front edge of the table. The pusher is moved along the rod 16 afterrdepression' of the. head 24 until it engages with the rear end of the bacon whereupon the head 24 is released, which allows the lower bearing [8 to engage with the thread on the rod l6.- Now the niotoris started. The blade carrierat this time is in 'a position indicated in Figure 1, and the'suction holder lies against the. face .of the bacon, the

valves within the; area of the face of theibaconbeing forced inwardly so that the vacuumiwhich may be assumed tobe in .the suction chamber from the last operation, becomes active upon the front or slicing face of the bacon, and firmly holds the. saine in position. 1 As the mo'torjstartsg the shaft '26 is turned and causes. the beveled gears 2'! and 3.0 to transmit rotary motion to the ring gear 3i, whereby the disc.32 is :made torevolve for. impartingfiendwise. motion to the knife blade 4.3.. At the samettimerotaryinotion is trans mitted from'the-shaft 26 to the; shaft it! through the gears 4| and lth-an'cl the dr'um'39 causesthe arm 36 and throughthe latter the blade carrier 4v to swing acrossthe'table so that the blade .53

' of. its movement, it starts on:its return movement across the table. "The cam- 69 now is in a positionto start-on 'its third quarter which allows the spring 12 to retract the shaft Blfoi swinging the suction holder away from the front edge of theitable, and while this swinging action is exeouted and the suction 'holder approaches the end of its outward movement, the pin 14 on the :cam 69 strikes the lugt'l5'.and..causes the shaft 61 I to turn for tilting the suction holder so that the same lies-practically flat above the tray. The tilting movement of the suction holder. causes the portg93. of-the journal 56 to move-xout'of' iregistry with the port 92;.and into registry withthe port 95 leading toflthe atmosphere so thatthe suction is released and the'slice of bacon carried .by thesuction holder is dropped on the trayli.

After the pin has passed them 15 the suction holder snaps back into vertical position 'dueto the action of the spring 12' and advances the tray .by one: step through the bar 91 enter-I ingoneof the recesses 98. The. return of the suction holder toyertical position'reverses the thesuction chamber. to the suction pump.

As the cam T69 goesthrough the fourth quarter arrangement of the portsso as to again connect tial position, and takes a new hold of the slicing face of the bacon, which latter has been advanced in the meantime through engagement of the stem 48 of the T-shaped member 45 with the pin 49 extending from the ring 50 on the threaded rod l6.

It will be seen that in this manner the bacon is urged to successive slicing operations and that each slice is automatically deposited on the tray in overlapping relation with the preceding slice in the manner indicated in Figure 1. It should be understood that a stack'of paper sheets shown at. 99 may be placed on the tray so that after one layer of bacon slices has been deposited it may be removed on the paper sheet as a unit. It should also be noted that the blade carrier may be provided with a small steel blade I00, whichmay out between the bacon and the rind for separating the latter from the former.

I claim:

1. In a slicing machine, a table, means for positioning an object thereon having a rind so as to project beyond an edge of the tab1e,'a blade, a blade carrier adapted to guide the blade along the edge of the table for removing a slice from the object, means for gripping and supporting the slice during the cutting operation and a cutter attached to the blade carrier and mounted for passing between the slice and the gripping means for cutting the rind, from the object.

2. In a slicing machine, a table, means for positioning an object, thereon having a rind so as to project beyond an edge of the table, a blade, a blade carrier adapted to guide the blade along the edge of the table for removing .a slice from the object, means for gripping and supporting the slice during the cuttingoperation, and a cutter attached to the leading edge of the blade carrier and mounted for passing between the slice and the gripping means for severing the rind from the object prior to the removing of the slice by the blade. I

3. In a slicer of the character described, a base, a frame having a sleeve pivotally supported in the base and having spaced arms projecting therefrom, a disc revolvable. in the frame and rollers revolvable in the arm extremities, a band blade movable on the disc and the rollers, a ring gear on the disc, a shaft extending through the sleeve and having a pinion in driving relation with the ring gear for imparting movement to the band blade, a transverse shaft in the base, a driving connection between the two shafts, a third shaft mounted parallel to the second shaft and having a cam thereon, a driving connection between the second andthird shafts, an arm extending from the sleeve and being engaged by the cam for operation thereby whereby the frame with its blade is made to swing back and forth, a table for holding an object mounted within the confines of the arm and with its frontedge in operative proximity to the band blade, a pusher for advancing the object, a screw for advancing the pusher and means actuated by the swinging frame for operating the screw. 7

4. In a slicer of. the character described, a base, a frame having a sleevepivotally supported in the base and having spaced arms projecting therefrom,.a discrevolvable in the frame and rollers revolvable in the arm extremities, a band blade movable on the disc and the rollers, a ring gear on the disc, a shaft extending through the sleeve and having a pinion in driving relation with the ring gear. for imparting movement to the band. blade, a transverse shaft in the base,

a driving connection between the two shafts, a third shaft mounted parallel to the second shaft and having a cam thereon, a driving connection between the second and third shafts, an arm extending from the sleeve and being engaged by the cam for operation thereby whereby the frame with its blade is made to swing back and forth, a table for holding an object mounted within the confines of the arms and with its front edge in operative proximity to the band blade, and means for advancing the object actuated by the swinging frame.

5. In a slicer of the character described, a base, a frame having a sleeve pivotally supported in the base and having spaced arms projecting therefrom, a disc revolvable in the frame and rollers revolvable in the arm extremities, a band blade movable on the disc and the rollers, a ring gear on the disc, a shaft extending through the sleeve and having a pinion in driving relation with the ring gear for imparting movement to the band blade, a transverse shaft in the base, a driving connection between the two shafts, a third shaft mounted parallel to the second shaft and having a cam thereon, a driving connection between the second and third shafts, an arm extending from the sleeve and being engaged by the cam, for operation thereby whereby the frame with its blade is made to swing back and forth, and means for fixedly supporting an object in the path of the swinging blade.

6. In a slicer of the character described, a base, a frame having a sleeve pivotally supported in the base and having spaced arms projecting therefrom, a disc revolvable in the frame and rollers revolvable in the arm extremities, a band blade movable on the disc and the rollers, a ring gear on the disc, a shaft extending through the sleeve and having a pinion in driving relation with the ring gear for imparting movement to the band blade, a transverse shaft in the base, a driving connection between the two shafts, a third shaft mounted parallel to the second shaft and having a cam thereon, a driving connection between the second and third shafts, an arm extending from the sleeve and being engaged by the cam for operation thereby whereby the frame with its blade'is made to swing back and forth.

7. In a slicer of the character described, a base, a frame having a sleeve pivotally supported in the base and having spaced arms projecting therefrom, means for movably supporting a band blade in the frame and the arms with a section exposed between the arms, a shaft extending through the sleeve and having driving connection with the latter means for moving the blade, a transverse shaft in the base having driving connection with the first shaft, a third shaft mounted parallel to the second shaft and having a cam thereon, a driving connection between the second and third shafts and an armextending from the sleeve and in engagement with the cam for operation therebywhereby the frame is made to swing back and forth. 1 I

8. In a slicing machine, a table, means for positioning an object thereon so as to project beyond one edge, an endless blade, a yoke-shaped frame pivoted to straddle the table between the arms thereof and having the endless blade mounted therein with an exposed portion of said blade in operative relation to a table edge, means for imparting endwise motion to the blade, means'for swinging the frame back and forth,-a screw for advancing the object, a finger projecting from the screw and amember extending-from the frame adapted to strike the finger when the frame swings for actuating the screw.

9. In a slicing machine, a table, means for positioning an object thereon so as to project beyondone edge; an endless blade, a yoke-shaped frame pivoted tostraddle the table between the arms thereof and having the endless blade mounted therein with an exposed portion of said blade in operative relation to a table edge, means for imparting endwise motion to the blade, means for swinging the frame back and forth, a screw for advancing the object, a fingerprojecting from the screw and a member extendingfrom the frame adapted to strike the finger when the frame swings for actuating the screw, the finger having a clutch connection'with the screw whereby it is free to rotate in one direction.

10, In a slicing machine, a' table, means for pc- 'sitioning an object thereon so as to project beyond one edge, an endless blade, a yoke-shaped frame pivoted to straddle the table between the arms thereof and having the endless blade mounted therein with an exposed portion of said blade in operative relation to a table edge, means for imparting endwise motion to the blade, means for swinging the frame back and forth, a screw for advancing the object, a finger projecting from the screw and a member extending from the frame adapted to strike the finger when the frame swings for actuating the screw,'the said member being adjustable on the frame'lengthwise of the finger whereby the extent ofthe screw movement may be adjusted; V I SAMUEL SINGER. 

